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I started wondering when the first time an infinite combo was possible in Magic: The Gathering. I went through Alpha and, as far as I could tell, there wasn't an infinite combo available among the cards there, although there were a couple pieces to well known infinite combos.

The first two cards that I noticed from Alpha were Basalt Monolith and Time Vault but I didn't notice any way to go infinite with them using just Alpha.

Are there any infinite combos that existed before this two card combo? Specifically, I'm looking for infinite combos that are legal to execute by tournament standards. So for example, using Basalt Monolith to tap and untap itself repeatedly wouldn't count as it doesn't advance the board state.

Basalt Monolith all on its own is an infinite combo. It's kind of boring, but hey.
– ShowsniJan 25 at 21:38

2

@Showsni I thought that too, that's why I added in the last paragraph. I was looking for an infinite that advanced the board. I'm pretty sure if you tried to do that in a tournament you'd get yelled at for slow play.
– DenisSJan 26 at 1:42

The pedant in me says that you need a way to reshuffle the graveyard into the library otherwise you deck out. Fortunately, Timetwister is also an Alpha card, so even if you buy that argument it doesn't change the answer.
– Arcanist LupusJan 25 at 0:24

While the loop that Aulis and Ayatollah describe is undoubtedly the best infinite combo in Alpha, it is not the only infinite combo in Alpha.

Step 1:
Play your entire deck, until there are only 9 cards combined in your graveyard, hand, and library.Step 2:
Play Time WalkStep 3:
Play Timetwister, shuffle your graveyard and hand into your library, and draw 7 cards, including a Regrowth.Step 4:
Start your next turn, draw your eighth card. Play Regrowth, getting back Timetwister. You now have Time Walk and Timetwister in hand.
Step 5:
See Step 1

Most games end before either player is down to 9 cards in their library
– murgatroid99♦Jan 25 at 7:33

2

The Weissman Deck sometimes went infinite. Although it used Ice Age cards, I'm pretty sure a functioning version could have been made with Alpha only. Of course, no one knew MtG well enough to make such a deck.
– JollyJokerJan 25 at 11:31

4

@murgatroid99 I did say it wasn't a very good combo, didn't I? It's massively impractical, but it does work.
– Arcanist LupusJan 25 at 15:50

The Weissman thought stuck in my head. Alpha had Control Magic to replace the Moats. City of Brass is no issue since opponents have neither Blood Moon nor Strip Mine; all duals is fine. Losing Mana Drain is regrettable, but Counterspell plus Power Drain is fine. Amnesia over Mind Twist was questionable anyway, Ivory Tower, Balance and Wrath of God can probably fit in. I'm pretty sure this would have beaten the shit out of the field back in those days.
– JollyJokerJan 25 at 21:21

4

@RBarryYoung Replaced the second Timetwister with Regrowth
– Arcanist LupusJan 26 at 22:36